When you come down to it, at this point, it's all about legacy for GSP. He had (and still has) a single-minded, obsessive focus on being the best - and he succeeded at it. His legacy will always have him in the conversation around who the GOAT (greatest of all time) is. There are three other names on that list as it stands: Fedor Emelianenko, Anderson Silva, and Jon Jones. Jones has tarnished his image with scandal after scandal, including a hit and run under the influence that injured a pregnant woman, but as a fighter, he has been almost completely untouchable thus far. Silva badly damaged his legacy by failing a drug test related to his early 2015 fight against Nick Diaz - in fact, he failed for multiple steroids and other banned substances, then blamed the failure on sexual enhancement pills. Finally, The Last Emperor, Fedor, recently returned to competition - beating an unknown Indian kickboxer with only two professional fights, hurting his own legacy in the process (though not as much as he would have had he lost to the unknown Jaideep Singh). In short, the discussion over who the greatest is has come down to Jones and GSP. Jones is still young, and a lot is riding on his comeback fight, which has yet to be officially announced - should he lose, GSP may still one day be considered the greatest, period. On the flip side, were he to come back and lose, he risks dropping down the ladder and harming his legacy. Why come back? There's really no good answer.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
